Getting more happiness out of every day…

The Big Leap

I am reading a great book right now called The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks. It’s really giving me some insight on why I tend to stress, especially after big wins in my career.

This weekend, I was sick. And i knew it was all mental. Not only was I sick, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING would go right. I felt like the world was falling apart, and no matter how much I fought against it, my ego was winning the battle in my mind. This came on the heels of the largest sales month my team has ever had, earning a trip for 2 to Paris, and all sorts of highs in November.

I was literally sabotaging myself. I knew it, my mentors knew it, but I just had to pull myself out of it. And it wasn’t happening.

So I did what I could for business for a few days and when those seemed fruitless, I picked up my book again, and I also picked up a favorite – the Tao te Ching. Between clarity on how we sabotage ourselves after great success because we feel we are unworthy, and some sage advice from the Tao to just let it go, I had a mental moment of “oh F it – let’s get on with this month.” Tuesday rolled around and was much better than Monday, which was a million times better than Sunday.

And then, then there’s today. I went to do an event with no expectations of huge success – I just went and did what I do and put all of my heart into it, and I ended up having fantastic sales in a short 3 hour period. But it’s not just the sales, it was the amazing connections I made with people that morning. Every person I dealt with was wonderful and kind, and the ones that weren’t amazing humans were still pretty damn good ones. I felt truly blessed. I was in a small town called Weston, OR – which is a cute little outpost, literally one block of “town” to the whole place. The building I was in that morning was built in 1909 and had the best energy and structure. When I left, I stopped at a little restaurant to grab lunch and take some time to look up and down the little block of “town.” While I waited for my food, a sweet old man came in and kept joking and flirting with the two women running the joint, and then started to chit chat with me. His name was Frank. At one point I said, “Frank, can I just join you instead of hollering at each other from our separate tables?” He invited me to sit and as we finished our lunches over the next hour we had the best conversation. It was so pleasant to just enjoy the time with him, and enjoy learning the story of his life. What an interesting man he was!

As I left, I checked some emails and voicemails and had received a new order, and information that my new 2015 Benz is going to be arriving SOON, and at a closer dealership than I thought. The drive back through the rolling wheat fields was beautiful, and when I got home I took a quick minute or so to organize and clean up and headed out for an appointment. At the appointment, which I was very willing to pay full price and cash for – my friend asked if she could just swap for product. Certainly! Wow – I got to keep more of the money that I hadn’t even expected to make this morning!

What’s my point? Just go with the flow. I know this, and I’ve been in and out of the flow before, and sometimes I fall out of it. And that’s ok too. It’s a rhythm and I can only keep improving myself so that the peaks of the wave become much longer than the valleys.

Here’s my favorite section of the Tao. It truly brings me peace. I hope you enjoy it as well:
#44

Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success or failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
You will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.